This week’s news includes: Jane Brown prepares to step down as President/CEO of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation; Terri Lee Freeman will leave The Lewis in December; AFRAM at 50; Sonya Clark wins American Craft Council Gold Medal Award; BMA launches an Artist-in-Residence program at Lexington Market, announces Anna Divinagracia, Dirk Joseph, and Dr. Yemonja Smalls as JJC residents and Ultra Naté as Composer-in-Residence, Hopkins restores The Four Doctors; new ownership for the 8×10; Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) Community Exhibition, dates announced for Charm City Live and Baltimore Book Festival; and the Kennedy Center’s legal woes.
Robert W. Deutsch Foundation searches for new leader as Jane Brown prepares to step aside as president and CEO
by Marcus Dieterle
Published June 16 in Baltimore Fishbowl
Jane Brown will step aside later this year as president and CEO of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation after 31 years of leading the private foundation, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Baltimore.
The foundation announced Monday that it has launched its search for Brown’s successor.
“While I am immensely proud of everything the Foundation has accomplished over the last three decades, it is time for a new generation of leadership and ‘fresh eyes’ to guide us into the decades to come,” Brown said in a statement. “We are eager to speak to experienced applicants with a clear vision to carry the Foundation’s values forward and continue to expand our impact across Baltimore.”
Reginald F. Lewis Museum president Terri Lee Freeman to retire in December
by Marcus Dieterle
Published June 18 in Baltimore Fishbowl
Terri Lee Freeman, president of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, will retire in December.
Freeman came to The Lewis Museum in 2020 after five years of leading the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.
During her tenure in Baltimore, she steered the institution through the COVID-19 pandemic and a nation grappling with the realities of racial injustice and violence in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and numerous other Black Americans.
As AFRAM hits 50, Baltimore’s celebration of Black culture is a tale of resiliency
by Jasmine Vaughn-Hall and Wesley Case
Alma Bell had a message for Mother Nature as she waited for Baltimore’s first AFRAM to unfold at Hopkins Plaza and Charles Center 50 years ago.
“We are here to stay. The rain will have no effect on us,” Bell, who was on the festival’s planning committee, told local papers in 1976.
AFRAM was a heavy lift even back then, said Bell, now 81. Many on the committee had never planned such a large festival, which ultimately attracted 50,000 people and included performances by Lou Rawls and Gil Scott-Heron.
“It was unbelievable because people were very pleased to have a festival that focused on them,” Bell said.
Photostory: AFRAM in its early years
by J.M. Giordano and Grace Hebron
Published June 16 in Baltimore Beat
Fifty years ago, Baltimore’s festival scene birthed a summertime shrine to Black music and culture. The first AFRAM Expo was among the city’s many bicentennial celebrations, packing national and local talent into Hopkins Plaza on an early August weekend. With performances by local groups like Frankie and the Spindles and the Baltimore Dance Theater, it was headlined by some of the day’s biggest acts, including Gil Scott-Heron, Lou Rawls, Billy Taylor, and Art Blakey.
Throughout the years, wherever AFRAM went, from Charles Center to Camden Yards to Druid Hill Park, and whatever it evolved into, core memories would follow, making Baltimore — Black Baltimore — the place to witness history each summer.
Sonya Clark wins American Craft Council Gold Medal
Goya Contemporary Newsletter :: June 12
Sonya Clark wins the 2026 American Craft Council Gold Medal Award—the highest recognition bestowed upon ACC Fellows, in recognition of their lifetime of achievements.
Awarded to both Sonya Clark & Consuelo Jiménez Underwood, Gold Medal awardees represent the extraordinary among a field of elite craftspeople.
In his statement to the press Jon Spayde of the ACC said: “Internationally acclaimed, Clark has been telling stories through objects for more than 30 years. The stories she tells—by means of cloth, fiber, combs, beads, money, hair, and other materials, both likely and unexpected—pulse with her passions and priorities: conveying the richness and depth of craft traditions, particularly African textile traditions; pointing out the ironies and absurdities of racism; honoring important Black men and women; exploring her own relationship with ancestral traditions of making and knowing; and much more.”
BMA Lexington Market Launches New Artist-in-Residence Program
Press Release :: June 11
On Thursday, June 18, the Baltimore Museum of Art will launch Practicing Place, a new artist-in-residence program that places six artists and organizations at the BMA’s Lexington Market branch for an extended period. The year-long program invites artists to serve as both practitioners and public-facing cultural hosts, contributing to an evolving conversation around art, community, and the role of public space in one of Baltimore’s most significant public buildings.
The Practicing Place series builds on the success of last year’s artist-led programs that attracted 3,500 participants by bringing back many of the same artists and deepening the museum’s commitment to Baltimore’s public realm as a site of encounter, exchange, and shared civic life. The inaugural residency begins on June 18 with Dreamseeds (Hannah Brancato and Sanahara Ama Chandra), whose six-week session will include facilitated workshops, community gatherings, and public programming. Future activities will range from collective weaving to sound baths and song circles. BMA Lexington Market is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Practicing Place program continues through June 2027.
BMA Announces Composer in Residence Ultra Naté & Three Artist Residencies
Press Release :: June 17
The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), and the BMA’s Joshua Johnson Council (JJC) today announced Anna Divinagracia, Dirk Joseph,and Dr. Yemonja Smalls have been selected for the 2026 Summer Artist-in-Residence program at MICA jointly sponsored by the three organizations. Launched in 2022, the residency program provides selected artists the opportunity to work in studios within MICA’s Fred Lazarus IV Center over the course of eight weeks in June and July, allowing them to expand their work and scale, as well as embed themselves within the college community. Artists will also have access to MICA’s world-class fabrication studios, which include a two-dimensional prototyping studio, digital fabrication labs, biofabrication lab, and wood shops.
For the first time, the Summer Artist-in-Residence program has been expanded to support three working artists. Divinagracia, Joseph, and Smalls are all Baltimore-based artists who were selected by a five-panel jury comprised of Ann Walsh (MICA), Lehna Huie (JJC), and FAITH McCorkle (BMA), as well as Murjoni Merriweather and Rodney Jermaine Elliot (Qrcky), the 2025 JJC artists-in-residence.
2026 Sondheim Art Prize Finalists Exhibition to Take Place in Hackerman House at the Walters Art Museum
Create Baltimore reveals the work of the five finalists who were selected for the 21st edition of the 2026 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize. Their work will be exhibited in Hackerman House at the Walters Art Museum from June 25 through September 13, 2026.
The 2026 Sondheim Finalists are:
Thea Canlas
Leigh Davis
Brandon Donahue-Shipp
Curran Hatleberg
Danni O’Brien
The finalists each received $3,000 towards their exhibitions. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on August 27, 2026.
The Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize has been awarded annually since 2006, when it was first announced at Artscape. The prestigious visual arts honor, which is supported by the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), grants $30,000 to a visual artist or visual artist collaborators living and working in the Baltimore region.
The Sondheim Art Prize is named in honor of Janet & Walter Sondheim, both of whom were instrumental in furthering arts & culture in Baltimore City. Janet Sondheim danced with the pioneering Denishawn Dancers, a legendary dance troupe founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn.
Walter Sondheim, Jr. was an important Baltimore civic leader for over 50 years. He was deeply involved in the development of Charles Center and the Inner Harbor.
“The Sondheim Art Prize is one of my favorite programs that Create Baltimore manages, and this year’s Finalists Exhibition is going to be really special,” said Barbara Hauck, Director of Arts Council Programming at Create Baltimore. “It is a unique privilege to be able to showcase such cutting-edge contemporary art in the historic rooms of the Hackerman House, and we are grateful for our partnership with the Walters to produce this extraordinary exhibition.”
OF NOTE: The semifinalists for the 2026 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize currently have an exhibition on view, featuring pieces from 16 of the 18 artists selected by the jurors, at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum at 830 E. Pratt Street until June 22, 2026.
Facelift for ‘The Four Doctors’
by Brennen Jensen
Published May 12 in JHU Hub
Dr. William Osler has never looked better. Dr. William H. Welch’s skin has a healthy new glow. Yes, these famous physicians, key figures in the founding of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the School of Medicine, are long dead. But their likenesses, along with two other foundational Hopkins doctors, William S. Halsted and Howard A. Kelly, live on in a massive oil painting by celebrated American artist John Singer Sargent. Titled The Four Doctors, the work was completed in 1906 and has hung in the West Reading Room at the Welch Medical Library since 1929.
Under New Ownership That Includes Soul Singer Cris Jacobs, The 8×10 Will Rock On in Federal Hill
by Sarah Achenbach
Published June 15 in Baltimore Magazine
Jeremy Rusen can’t recall who was on stage the first time he squeezed his way into the crowd at Federal Hill’s iconic concert venue The 8×10 some 20 years ago, but he never forgot the feeling. “The 8×10 has an energy,” say Rusen, now an 8×10 regular and local trades craftsman. “It’s all about the music.”
Praised as one of the East Coast’s premier places to experience a live show, the small-but-mighty 8×10 has hosted the likes of Nirvana, Billy Joel, Chuck Berry, Phish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other national names since opening in 1983. But it’s also been a springboard for independent artists across all genres—like Charm City soul fixture Cris Jacobs, who holds the unofficial record for most shows played on the 8×10 stage.
Baltimore Children & Youth Fund’s Community Exhibition 2026 Gives City Officials and Residents Firsthand Look at Public Youth Investment in Action
Press Release :: June 15
The Baltimore Children & Youth Fund (BCYF) welcomed Baltimore residents, families, community leaders, and city officials to 4MLK at the University of Maryland BioPark last week for its 2026 Community Exhibition, a two-floor, interactive showcase of how public youth funding is supporting creativity, leadership, and opportunity for young people across Baltimore.
Notable attendees included Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen, Del. Luke Clippinger, City Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, Councilmember John Bullock, and representatives from Baltimore’s youth development, nonprofit, civic, and philanthropic sectors.
At the exhibition, Baltimore residents and families explored featured projects developed through BCYF’s learning lab, interactive exhibits from youth-serving organizations, live performances, storytelling activations, and opportunities to connect directly with grassroots leaders serving young people across the city. By bringing residents and city officials face-to-face with the organizations, projects, and leaders supported through the fund, the exhibition offered a firsthand look at how public tax dollars are strengthening Baltimore’s youth ecosystem.
“Events like the Community Exhibition remind us of what’s possible when a city makes a real, visible commitment to its young people—an investment that’s accountable to families and shaped by the communities it’s meant to serve,” said Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen. “Through the Baltimore Youth Master Plan, we’re giving our young people a genuine role in guiding the next chapter of this work.”
Featured experiences at the event included exhibits from BCYF-funded organizations including CHARM, Nuestras Raíces, Expanding Boundaries International and The Equity Project Foundation, youth performances and open mic moments, a Baltimore Youth Master Plan (BYMP) station where residents shared ideas and signed up to help shape the future of youth programming. The exhibition also featured a “Mayor for a Minute” video booth where participants recorded their dreams for Baltimore; a #bcreds trivia and registration station, complimentary refreshments, and opportunities to network.
“Seeing families connect with grassroots leaders, young people perform and share their ideas, and residents sign up to help shape the Youth Master Plan brought the fund’s purpose to life,” said Alysia Lee, President and CEO of the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund. “The organizations in our exhibition are doing important work every single day, and evenings like this give Baltimore a window into the impact public dollars are creating across the city.”
Charm City Live and Baltimore Book Festival dates announced
by Aliza Worthington
Published June 16 in Baltimore Fishbowl
Dates have been announced for two more festivals that will round out Baltimore’s 2026 festival season: Charm City Live and the Baltimore Book Festival. Mayor Brandon Scott and the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment (MOACE) announced that Charm City Live, celebrating its fifth year, will take place during Labor Day weekend on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. Charm City Live is Baltimore’s annual celebration of music, culture, and community.
The Baltimore Book Festival will take place over two days, on the weekend of Sept. 19 – 20, 2026. The festival is a celebration of authors, readers, and literary exploration and accomplishment. The Baltimore Book Festival began in 1996, inspired by Mayor Kurt Schmoke’s “The City That Reads” initiative.
Washington National Opera sues Kennedy Center for allegedly withholding $17 million in donations
by Hannah Yasharoff
Published June 12 in The Baltimore Banner
Five months after parting ways with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Washington National Opera is suing the historic venue, alleging it withheld $17 million in donations from WNO supporters and used those funds to collateralize the center’s credit.
Over 15 years, the Kennedy Center provided managerial duties for the opera, in addition to serving as a venue for it, though the two have remained separate nonprofits.
The partnership ended in January amid friction shortly before President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center board. The WNO immediately requested that funds be returned and has been trying since then to get the money back, a representative for the WNO said in a statement.
Maryland musician Chuck Redd wins legal fight with Kennedy Center over canceled performance
by Courtney Knight
Published June 11 in The Baltimore Banner
Maryland jazz musician Chuck Redd scored a legal victory this month when a D.C. judge threw out a Kennedy Center lawsuit that accused him of breaching a contract after he canceled a performance in protest of President Donald Trump’s association with the venue.
Redd, a Takoma Park resident, said he is “very pleased with the outcome of this ruling,” in an email to The Banner on Wednesday.
The official legal battle began in March, when the Kennedy Center filed a suit claiming that the 67-year-old drummer and vibraphonist breached a written contract to perform at the Christmas Eve Jazz Jam.
Curtain is coming down for Trump at the Kennedy Center as his name is being taken off building
by Steven Sloan, Associated Press
Published June 13 in The Baltimore Banner
The curtain started to come down for President Donald Trump at the Kennedy Center on Saturday. After a day of legal maneuvers and thunderstorms, workers began the process in the early morning hours of removing the letters spelling out the Republican president’s name from the facade of the iconic performing arts venue. They were a few hours past a court-ordered deadline and did their work shrouded by a tarp, much to the frustration of onlookers who had gathered for hours hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of Trump’s power.
As the sun rose over Washington, the tarp remained in place, leaving it impossible to determine whether all the letters had been removed. Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon EDT, citing the storms for delaying the work. The court agreed to that request Saturday morning.
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